


detuned radios.

by alighting



Category: Dangan Ronpa, Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, Dangan Ronpa 3: The End of 希望ヶ峰学園 | The End of Kibougamine Gakuen | End of Hope's Peak High School, Dangan Ronpa: Another Episode, Super Dangan Ronpa 2
Genre: F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-25
Updated: 2017-05-29
Packaged: 2018-03-03 14:30:45
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 10,021
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2854253
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alighting/pseuds/alighting
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>100 100-word drabbles, featuring the characters from the Dangan Ronpa franchise in a variety of scenarios and situations.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. stocking stuffers.

**Author's Note:**

> In an effort to get back into writing regularly, I found a 100-prompt challenge from an old LJ community, and decided to start this - 100 100-word drabbles in the DR universe, split into 2 50-drabble chapters.
> 
> Involves AU, crack, and regular universe-style drabbles, and likely everything in between.
> 
> (and for those of you celebrating - happy holidays!)

**crash.**

> …This was ridiculous.
> 
> Somehow, Mioda had managed to rope them all – himself, Sonia, Tsumiki, and Pekoyama – into having a “band meeting.” Nevermind that she and Sonia were the only two who even know how to _play_ instruments; that didn’t seem to matter.
> 
> He watched Pekoyama and Tsumiki try to figure out guitars (one was a bass and one electric; he couldn’t tell the difference), before turning back to the drum set. He lightly struck one of the cymbols, and then tried to tap out a rhythm with moderate success.
> 
> “Don’t forget to use your feet, Hajime-chan!”
> 
> …Was that even possible?

**dim.**

> Sure, half of their class had the combined intelligence of a grapefruit, but this was a new low. Hagakure was actually accusing Kirigiri of being the ghost of the victim – despite the girl in question standing at her podium, as usual, being very obviously alive. Togami couldn’t even justify such a ridiculous argument with an acknowledgement.
> 
> So, as usual, it fell to Naegi to prove the painfully obvious to the peanut gallery. Togami honestly wondered why they even bothered bringing anyone other than the three of them to these trials – the rest of the class was, at best, utterly useless. 

**futile.**

> “What the gently caress is wrong with this place?!”
> 
> The agitation on the young master’s face both surprised and didn’t surprise her. On one hand, she knew he was easily angered by small things; but then again, she hadn’t realized how attached he was to his… colorful vocabulary.
> 
> Still, Usami had made it clear that swearing wasn’t allowed on the island, and clearly she had a way of keeping it from happening. She’d even managed to censor some of his more creative curses, which was somewhat impressive.
> 
> Really, she hoped he’d give up trying before it was time for dinner. 

**erratic.**

> One day, Hinata wakes up, and it’s as if his dead classmates had never left.
> 
> He can’t even really remember why he thought of them as his “dead” classmates, either – it seems so right, having them back, and so they don’t even think to question it.
> 
> Not until he starts seeing active _glitching_ \- the world around them appearing to fall apart – that he realizes something’s wrong. Their classmates disappear not long after that, while entering the ruins – and within is an even more broken environment.
> 
> Learning that they were in a program answers all of the begged questions, though. 

**loved.**

> When she fell in love, she never expected to ever have it reciprocated.
> 
> He was too important to notice her romantically – but beyond that, she wasn’t sure if _anyone_ could love her. Even her own parents hadn’t loved her, had thrown her out with the garbage and left her to die. 
> 
> So when she said I love you, she had no illusions about hearing it back. She’d just felt that he deserved to know, and wanted to get it off her chest. 
> 
> Once he confessed that he felt the same, though, she learned what it was like to be loved. 

**soft.**

> “The Dark Gods have faced down demons, Ferocious One! To doubt their courage is to commit blasphemy!”
> 
> Peko eyed the hamsters, trying not to get her hopes up. Sure, they had yet to run away – but they were still in Tanaka’s possession, after all, and likely felt protected by him. The minute she tried to hold one of those adorable creatures, they would surely flee.
> 
> Trying not to be too hopeful, though, she does as commanded – she brings a hand forward to brush against Maga-G’s head, and marvels at how he calmly just waits for her to finish.
> 
> _Fluffy fluffy…_  
> 

**broken.**

> Pushing through the lines of broken code, Nanami attempts to establish contact with the outside world.
> 
> She’s not alone, of course; she’s pretty sure she’s only currently functional thanks to the efforts of her older brother, and he’s back at work trying to secure Usami, too. But getting rid of the virus has Alter Ego plenty busy, so she takes it upon herself to fix the connection to her friends.
> 
> She manages to find her way to the command line, and prints text to the screen.
> 
> “hello this is nanami”
> 
> A minute later, the words appear: “hi nanami welcome back” 

**precious.**

> “What do you think we should name her, Anata?”
> 
> He studies his newborn daughter carefully. Even with her strange blood-red eyes, he considers her to be one of the greatest gifts imaginable – a child, born to a couple thought to be infertile. With how much they’d yearned to be parents, the debt they’d accrued trying to conceive was worth the blessing.
> 
> A child from heaven. “Kaguya,” he decides. “Our own little princess.”
> 
> (When she is kidnapped for unpaid debts, a month later, they ransack the house and take a family heirloom as well – but her name is left behind, unused.) 

**soothe.**

> One of the strangest things about dating a program – the man she considers her father was a student a year below him in high school.
> 
> It didn’t help that he mistook the young boy for a girl in photographs, either. He only realized his mistake when his sweet girlfriend made her angry face and puffed out her cheeks – and so the next few minutes were spent placating her (he’s sorry, her father was very manly, he just got confused by the skirt). He was lucky she hadn’t cut the transmission entirely.
> 
> He makes a mental note: don’t insult Nanami’s family. 

**fight.**

> It’s not a hobby she picks up for enjoyment’s sake; rather, her sensei suggests her to take up kendo as a way to practice swordfighting without drawing unwanted attention. A much more commonly-accepted way of learning how to battle.
> 
> And so, as is her nature, she dedicates herself to the sport with everything she is. Each hit that connects is one step closer to keeping the young master safe.
> 
> It isn’t until she wins her first major tournament – an upset that leaves everyone surprised, and a trophy in her hand – that she can admit she enjoys kendo for itself, too.

**naked.**

> The first time Peko undresses in front of her husband, both of them nearly end the night there.
> 
> Intimacy is new, scary – they hadn’t even gotten this far on their wedding night (or the rest of their honeymoon, for that matter). And every time they’ve tried since, they’d been too embarrassed to go past a layer or two of clothing.
> 
> Not, of course, that there’s any less embarrassment now – Peko’s sure her cheeks are flushed scarlet, and Fuyuhiko isn’t faring much better. But this was what married couples do, and so she’s willing push through the embarrassment if he is. 

**alive.**

> The first moment of consciousness was sheer pain. After all, you don’t walk away from a near-death-by-stabbing-robots experience without pretty serious injuries. Not that the physical pain was anything out of the ordinary for him; he was yakuza and could handle that sort of thing just fine. 
> 
> What he wasn’t prepared for, though, was the rush of loss. Even as he forced aching, screaming muscles into moving to allow him to look around, he knew that he was the only one in the hospital room…and that was all his fault.
> 
> She was dead, and he should have been, too. 

**born.**

> Hajime Hinata pretends to listen as the surgeon goes over the procedure in detail. He doesn’t need to know anything beside the basics – that he’ll go to sleep a boring reserve student, and wake up a man of talent. The rest just scares him, puts doubt in his mind that he doesn’t want to have.
> 
> Instead, he lets them lay him out on the table, and lets his last thoughts be of how wonderful talent will be before drifting off to an anesthesia-induced sleep.
> 
> Izuru Kamukura wakes to new light, and the hum of voices from the doctors surrounding him. 

**devious.**

> When he drew the short stick (a stroke of luck), he knew his plan was in motion.
> 
> It was almost kind of sad, how easily Hanamura took the bait; but then again, it wasn’t hard to see that his hope was his mother, and he preyed on that weakness. He promised to help cover-up the murder (what does his life matter, if used to benefit his talented classmates?), but the hope of the others outshines Hanamura’s, and he loses interest.
> 
> Besides, he’ll come up with a better, more hope-inducing plan later (involving a spear, poison, and a despairing black heart). 

**winter.**

> An impatient child from the very beginning, Natsuhi Kuzuryuu is born a week ahead of schedule.
> 
> The last month of pregnancy is one spent on a husband-enforced bedrest (despite the doctor saying that both mother and child looked healthy), but plans to spend a romantic Christmas together were foiled by contractions.
> 
> Peko tried to convince Fuyuhiko that he could still enjoy the romantic evening they had planned regardless, but he wasn’t about to enjoy it without her – and they could celebrate later, once their daughter had arrived.
> 
> (When she was older, Natsuhi enjoyed visiting the West – _everybody_ celebrated her birthday!) 

**ring.**

> Makoto Naegi had spent the past few weeks coming up with the perfect way to propose.
> 
> It wasn't like he didn't hear what people said - how she was out of his league, how he didn't deserve her - and he couldn't really disagree. So if he was going to get someone like Kyouko Kirigiri to marry him, he'd have to pull out all the stops.
> 
> He’d already gotten a ring he thought she’d be pleased with – and a chain to wear it on, for when she wore her gloves. The question was…how should he give it to her? 

**reach.**

> If anyone had told the elder Kuzuryuu that his son would eventually marry the orphan he’d taken in, she imagines he would have said that would happen over his dead body.
> 
> He would, of course, be correct – granted, thanks to their time in SHSL Despair, he’d died an early death (he’d been saved for last, forced to watch Peko slaughter the rest before Fuyuhiko had pulled out his gun and filled him with bullets) – but that didn’t make it any less true.
> 
> Nobody could dispute their marriage now – and so the ‘tool’ had become the wife of the new head. 

**veneer.**

> This was how it was supposed to be.
> 
> That’s what she tells herself as she conceals herself near the playground (she has to keep the young master safe, but it looks out-of-place for a grown woman with a sword to be watching a group of children). She’d known that this would be the outcome since she was a child.
> 
> Her master would marry, and she would have to protect his family as well as himself. He may not like the term “master,” but that didn’t change her role.
> 
> She loved him, and she would show that by keeping them safe. 

**nightmare.**

> “Naegi-kun…! Save me, Naegi-kun!”
> 
> He dreams of her – bloodied, scared, frantically trying to keep the shower door closed. He knows that, moments before, she’d attempted to commit murder, but none of that is evident now.
> 
> All he sees is a girl, scared, knowing that she’s about to die.
> 
> Realistically, there was nothing he could do – he hadn’t even known that she was planning on having Kuwata-kun over in his room, so he had no reason to come to save her from him. But in his dreams, she cries for his help – and it kills him that he can’t give it. 

**goodbye.**

> It’s the end they never thought they’d be lucky enough to reach – they’re all alive, together, and leaving the island to find some sort of normalcy in the world they’d once destroyed.
> 
> It also meant that they were going to part ways, potentially permanently. And while there were some of their classmates who couldn’t get along, they had all grown rather close – especially the survivors, who had made years of waiting pass by by getting to know each other. Even Souda and Sonia had managed to get on pleasant terms.
> 
> It’s a special bond, surviving the end of the world. 

**scarred.**

> Wearing his eyepatch has almost become second-nature by now – from his time using one in the program to his make-shift one in reality – but there are, occasionally, times where he forgets to put it on in the middle of the night. Usually it’s not a problem, but tonight, he runs into Peko (who also couldn’t sleep).
> 
> It’s not until she gasps, staring horrified at where his eye used to be, that he realizes he’s not wearing it, and _shit_. He slaps a hand up to cover it, temporarily.
> 
> “It’s not your fault,” he says, but he knows she’s not listening. 

**last dance.**

> The traditional Noveliscan waltz was, Gundam Tanaka found, a hex of immeasurable complexity.
> 
> The spell required two young sacrifices, who would perform a series of intricate foot sequences which no-doubt drew a magical circle on the ground, and then a demon would be summoned to devour the two whole.
> 
> His Lady claimed otherwise – in all the times she’s seen royal couples dance, they’ve never once lost their souls to Satan – but in order to preserve his control over the astral and mortal planes, he insists on avoiding the dance floor.
> 
> (Sonia wonders if dance lessons would boost his confidence any.) 

**burn.**

> As much as her students learned from her, Usami learned from them – not the least of which was the importance of romantic relationships.
> 
> Usami was a teacher who only wanted the best for her students. And so, she decided to help them by setting them up on the perfect dates, taking ideas from Chiaki-chan’s games.
> 
> After the disastrous date between Koizumi and Kuzuryuu (fighting was a sign of hidden love!) that ended in the hotel catching on fire, however, they sent Hinata to dissuade her. 
> 
> Just in time, too, as she’d been planning a romantic getaway for him and Komaeda. 

**shine.**

> From the minute Komaeda is well enough to walk, he is explicitly forbidden from getting anywhere near the rest of the pods.
> 
> He only had himself to blame – one of the first things out of his mouth was “Imagine what would happen if the facility lost power…your hope would shine so bright!” Given that the rest of their class was still comatose and depending on a power supply to live, that comment hadn’t gone over so well.
> 
> Kuzuryuu and Owari had agreed not to kill him if he was kept far away from everyone else. There were no complaints. 

**grave.**

> The first trip he made off of the island was to confirm it – that his shithead little sister was indeed dead, just the way the damn bear had said.
> 
> Granted, the vast majority of the Kuzuryuu family was dead, now, but given how her death had started everything (was how Enoshima had gotten under his skin, what led to him killing the rest of them as well), it was notable in its own way.
> 
> He kneels in front of her grave, and prays for her.
> 
> (He can almost hear the wind ringing with her laughter, calling him a big sap.) 

**i know.**

> Sometimes, she is tempted to remind her boyfriend that she’s been doing detective work for most of her life, and thus his tendency to constantly worry about her safety is a little unwarranted.
> 
> For some reason, that doesn’t seem to soothe him this time – the idea of her being hurt is too terrifying, and so he rushes to think of something to say to stop her.
> 
> “I love you,” he blurts out, and doesn’t seem to be aware of the words until they’re already spoken.
> 
> No matter.
> 
> “I know,” she responds, and lets her lips curl up into a smile. 

**destiny.**

> After the hero saves the day, the princess sends him back to where he came from – they can never be together.
> 
> It’s not the happiest ending, even if it does set things up for the next game in the series. So when Nanami’s facing her own predestined break-up, she decides not to ask him for the ocarina back; now isn’t the time for video game references.
> 
> “Nanami…I don’t care if you’re a program. You’re still our classmate. And, uh…I mean, if you just don’t want to talk again, that’s fine, but—“
> 
> Maybe they’ll make their own ending. 

**fingertips.**

> For some reason, oral sex was more difficult than sex itself. It was definitely enjoyable, and yet…something wasn’t right. He slides a hand into her hair, feeling it catch in her braid, and suddenly it’s too much.
> 
> She’s startled when he coaxes her off, oddly manic, and starts undoing one of her braids with a shaky hand. He can’t articulate it – how the perfect braids remind him that she wore her hair like that to be ready for battle, to protect him – but it’s all right. She removes the second braid on her own.
> 
> And, after reassurance, they finish. 

**waiting.**

> His important person may not be in the pods, but Hinata feels a sort of kinship with his classmates regardless. Just as they sit by the sides of their loved ones, hoping for them to open their eyes and rejoin the world of the living, so too does he wait by the mainframe for a miracle.
> 
> He knows little about coding – Kamukura knew more, but those memories are fuzzy at best–but he figures that she must still exist, somewhere. Whether a corrupted-but-recoverable file or a backup that they could meet again, he isn’t picky.
> 
> He just wants her back. 

**playboy.**

> When Koizumi’s camera went missing, Hinata (for the same strange reason that had everyone coming to him for help) was roped into helping her get it back. He was no SHSL Detective (or SHSL anything, for that matter), but he managed to track it down all the same.
> 
> He wished he could say that he was surprised to learn that the culprit was Hanamura, happily giving himself nosebleeds over pictures of their female classmates in bikinis, but, well…he didn’t think anyone would be surprised. 
> 
> Judging by the black eye he had the next day, his fellow classmates certainly weren’t. 

**revenge.**

> There was only so much a girl could take, really.
> 
> They’d put up with her nastiness for _years_ \- god, she’d been tormenting poor Mahiru-chan since middle school! – and Satou had reached the end of her rope. She was tired of watching her best friend be bossed around by some rich bitch, and she wasn’t going to be her next target.
> 
> Her fingers close around the other girl’s throat before she realizes what’s going on, and she clenches as tightly as she can. The moment she stops struggling, the bloodlust abates – but it’s too late.
> 
> She finishes the job. 

**desire.**

> “Can we…try something?”
> 
> He feels the blush burn his cheeks as he asks – but this is something he’d been thinking about for a while (something he wants, even if it’s hard to articulate), and so he presses on.
> 
> Peko pulls back to look at him (and then, out of a sense of misplaced modesty, pulls the sheets up to cover her breasts), waiting for him to continue.
> 
> “I just think, maybe…you could be on top, this time.”
> 
> They’re both red, now, but she manages a small nod, and so he rolls them over.
> 
> (The sheets come off again.) 

**celebration.**

> On June 20, Sonia gathers most of the class to plan for a joint birthday party.
> 
> After some questions as to how she’d even known all of their birthdays (the student cards) and concerns over whether it was even a good idea (Hinata and Kuzuryuu were most vocal), she focused on the important part: how to celebrate Souda and Pekoyama’s 18th birthdays.
> 
> The mess of trying to cater to two such separate personalities was worsened by the eclectic tastes of the planning classmates – and so the 18th birthday party winds up involving swordfighting, fast cars, death metal, and meat. 

**morgue.**

> One thing Makoto Naegi isn’t sure he wants to remember – just what on earth the biology lab had been used for.
> 
> Granted, it was possible that the body-storage units had been brought in by Junko, along with the heavy artillery, but it made him wonder when. Headmaster Kirigiri and the rest of them had been living in the school together, so someone would’ve noticed the renovations.
> 
> Either way, he stays away from the biology lab, after it’s all over – Kirigiri’s the one who leads the efforts to recover the corpses. Unlike her, he’s just not used to seeing dead bodies. 

**space.**

> The final frontier is one of the most common settings for games. From her personal favorite – Galaga – to Star Fox and Asteroids, nothing has fascinated video game designers more than outer space.
> 
> And while Nanami is fond of believing that life is a game – and wishing that were more true than it was, since real people were so much more confusing than her programmed friends – she finds that being a part of a Space Invaders reenactment isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. 
> 
> Granted, Pac-Man and Tetris are also forever ruined for her. But losing Space Invaders hurts the most. 

**whitewash.**

> Naegi is certain this must be some sort of joke.
> 
> Strange enough that they wanted to make a movie about what had happened at Hope’s Peak – that wasn’t something anyone should want to relive – but even stranger was that an American company had taken interest and come all the way to Japan to secure the survivors’ agreement.
> 
> And this white boy a whole head taller than him (asking him questions, to better study up on the part of Makoto Naegi) was the cherry on this ridiculous story sundae.
> 
> Thankfully, Kirigiri’s flat “not interested” saved him the trouble of saying no. 

**coma.**

> “I guess I don’t need to tell you this, since he’s probably told you already, but Kuzuryuu went to visit the remains of his home...he’s holding up pretty well, considering. He misses you, you know.” 
> 
> “It’s been a lot of hard work, but you know Sonia – she’s been dedicated to restoring Novelisc to its former glory. She wants to bring you there when you wake up.”
> 
> “Owari’s been chomping at the bit for you to wake up; she says the rest of us are no good as training partners, even though Kuzuryuu did his best. Don’t disappoint her, okay?” 

**letters.**

> Peko,
> 
> I know I’m not always ~~good at this shit~~ the best at wording things, but ~~fuck~~ you know I care about you, right? I know you’re ~~fucking awful~~ not great at understanding what I mean, sometimes, so I need to be sure you get it.
> 
> It’s just ~~fucking impossible~~ hard to say this stuff out loud. ~~And shit, do you really think they’d respect me if I said it in front of everyone?~~ Which is why I’m writing this ~~shit~~ down.
> 
> I ~~love~~ ~~care~~ ~~fucking love~~ ~~why is this so hard~~ love you, okay?
> 
> Goddamnit.
> 
> —Fuyuhiko

**music.**

> Mioda wasn’t even awake a week when she managed (after much cajoling and complaining, not to mention tears on Souda’s part) to somehow get access to a boombox and an array of CDs.
> 
> Hinata thinks that she sang some of her most horrifying material until Souda caved, even if he couldn’t be sure. Not that he could blame him too much - one rendition of “It Was a Gorgeous Wedding, Your Girlfriend Says” was enough to make him bring earplugs to his shifts, just in case.
> 
> Then again, he’s not sure if the blaring death metal is really much better. 

**elephant.**

> Hinata is the type of guy to talk straight – so, unlike the others, he’s the one to bring up (and deal with) the elephant in the room.
> 
> …The literal elephant, as somehow Tanaka managed to acquire a circus animal and had attempted to hide it in his dorm room. Unsurprisingly, he hadn’t gotten very far.
> 
> “Do not attempt to halt our progress, Inflexible Ones! The lord of thunder and flies Hap-P demands entrance!”
> 
> Instead of attempting to argue it any further (he doubted it would do much good, knowing his classmate), he just called someone to come pick up Dumbo. 

**monopoly.**

> It seemed like a good date idea at first – go out to dinner, and then come home and play some board games that eventually transitioned into snuggling. The problem is, when you date the Super High School Level Gamer, board games tend to be more competitive than you bargained for.
> 
> Like…now, when Nanami’s solidly kicking his ass at Monopoly.
> 
> “Mm…you landed on one of my hotels again, Hinata-kun.”
> 
> As he pays up, Hinata feels his dream of ever winning a game against Nanami – even a board game, which is a little less her specialty – go up in smoke. 

**reality.**

> Sometimes, Hinata (privately) hated his wife’s parents for raising her on video games. A grown woman shouldn’t be confused about life basics– he’d even had to beg a friend to make sure she’d understood how sex worked (and he still owed Pekoyama for it).
> 
> Like… now, when his wife was attempting to lay their son to rest on the floor. Just because something was fine in the Sims didn’t make it okay in real life, but apparently that message hadn’t sunk in yet.
> 
> He scoops up Hiro securely in his arms, and wonders if there are any realistic caring-for-baby games. 

**chalk dust.**

> The hardest decision he ever had to make: whether or not to take the position as the headmaster of the newly-reopened Hope’s Peak Academy.
> 
> On one hand, it was his dream job – he loved teaching, and while dealing with kindergarteners was fun, becoming headmaster of his old school would be much more prestigious. But on the other hand, he knew his wife would never approve – just mentioning that he was considering it caused her face to cloud over, and she wouldn’t talk to him for the rest of the night.
> 
> He wouldn’t be her father – but would she believe him? 

**manuscript.**

> To his horror, Togami learns first-hand that Fukawa, when not being unnecessarily creepy and/or breathing precious oxygen, writes terribly explicit stories about the two of them.
> 
> She doesn’t even bother to change names, or have a vaguely-realistic premise; situations straight out of low-budget pornos seem to do her just fine.
> 
> In short, it is complete and utter garbage, and he contemplates suing her for libel. Unfortunately, his lawyer was killed in the end-of-the-world mess, and so it seems rather pointless.
> 
> Instead, he enacts revenge by shredding the messes and giving it to that weird kid to use in hamster cages. 

**ink.**

> One of the first things he does, after reestablishing the Family, is to solidify himself as a man by getting an elaborate tattoo.
> 
> Of course, irezumi takes a long time, so it’s not done in a night – especially not when you’re getting an intricate dragon all over your back and shoulders, to establish yourself as the oyabun of a powerful yakuza family. But being inkless has always been a source of embarrassment (the next head of the family, bare?), and so it’s a good investment.
> 
> …Not that anyone will see it. He isn’t a fucking slab of meat, after all. 

**choke.**

> The night he decided to pop the question, Makoto took Kyouko out to a fancy restaurant for dinner. It was a bit of a strain on his wallet, but tonight was special.
> 
> The waiter was more than happy to help, agreeing to place the ring in Kyouko’s dessert at the end of the meal, and he held his breath as the final plates were delivered.
> 
> Kyouko took one look at the cake before attacking it with her fork – smoothly pulling out the ring.
> 
> “Makoto, you are aware that this is a choking hazard, correct?”
> 
> (At least she still said yes.) 

**sacrament (writer’s choice).**

> When Peko-chan comes to visit, instead of shutting the door in her face, Koizumi opts to greet her with a hug.
> 
> After she’d heard what had happened, Saionji said she should be furious at them both – the ones who’d stolen her life. And yet, faint memories from the island (of a girl, studying pictures of her smiling classmates and attempting to mimic them with little success) stop her from greeting her classmate with anger.
> 
> How could you be angry at a girl who wanted to be normal, but who knew nothing but killing? All it did was make her sad. 

**rubble or our sins (writer’s choice).**

> Seeing the remains of the world – the ones they created, having destroyed the world they once knew – is, at best, nauseating.
> 
> How many people had they killed? How much had they been able to destroy? 
> 
> Could they ever atone for what they had done?
> 
> Hinata doesn’t blame the Future Foundation for being hesitant with them. By all rights, they were dangerous criminals who posed a threat to all current survivors. That didn’t stop him from wanting to work with them, though, to right some of the wrongs he’d wrought.
> 
> He was pretty sure most of his classmates felt the same. 

**evil plans (writer’s choice).**

> When the young master summons her to the cabin instead of breakfast, with the strangest look in his eye, she can do nothing but comply.
> 
> She soon learns that it’s even worse than she feared – not only had he played the game (as expected), but he’d gotten a bonus for his trouble: pictures of the young mistress’s corpse.
> 
> As she stares at the photo, unable to comprehend, she hears him panicking in the background, begging her to tell him that it looks faked. She has always been terrible at comforting, though, so she stays silent.
> 
> Then, he talks of revenge. 


	2. part 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TWO AND A HALF YEARS LATER....
> 
> Yeah, this definitely was not supposed to take this long, but sadly rl got in the way of things and writing was put on the backburner for a little while. But it's done now!
> 
> Like the last chapter, this is a mix of canon, post-canon, au, crack and other little drabbles. It's also worth noting that these were written at varying points during the two years - some right after the last set, some after DR3 started airing, and some after it finished. So some prompts may be inconsistent with the end of DR3 as a result.

**hold.**

> It doesn’t make any sense. She’s in the main course – a super high school level student – and yet, of all people, she seeks him out. Sure, maybe he can recognize Gala Omega, but the truth is that he’s a boring, talentless individual.
> 
> But she waits for him outside the reserve course building anyway, with an invitation to visit the game center together. And she _wants_ him to come – tugging on his hand in an effort to change his mind when he demurs.
> 
> Later, when he stares at that same hand, he wonders what such a cute girl sees in him.

**shackles.**

> After everything – the Mutual Killing Game, the Final Killing Game, reestablishing Hope’s Peak – Kirigiri still makes time for solving crimes in the shadows on top of her other duties. She is a detective first and foremost, like her grandfather before her.
> 
> This time, she’s solved the murder of a young woman who lived in her building. It only takes a short glance through the evidence to realize it was the boyfriend who strangled her, and as he’s being arrested, he threatens to make her pay for exposing his crime.
> 
> Some things don’t change, even after the end of the world.

**odds and ends.**

> “Hey! Naegi-chi, are you working on that simulation-thing of yours?”
> 
> …Well, there went the last attempt at secrecy – somehow, all of his classmates/teammates had found out about his secret project, even though he’d wanted to keep them (and their jobs) out of it.
> 
> “I was just thinking…they’d have to give each other gifts to get those shard things, right? So I have the perfect gift idea for you to use! Remember that crystal ball of mine?”
> 
> (After the successful run of the rehabilitation program, Naegi isn’t sure how to break the news to Hagakure – nobody had liked the gift.)

**tea.**

> When it comes to pleasing Celes, Yamada measures his success in the number of cups broken.
> 
> Preparing royal milk tea is outside of his area of expertise – he’s a doujin artist, not a barista – but his mistress has singled him out for this task, and he will not let her down. To complicate things even further, Celes is quite picky when it comes to her milk tea – if he makes even the slightest mistake, she’ll demand he remake it.
> 
> But her demands and outbursts don’t bother him any. The truth is, he doesn’t mind being her servant… not one bit.

**twisted.**

> Sometimes, Hinata wonders. Who was Komaeda Nagito, prior to his illness? Before he’d lost his ability to empathize, to interact with others socially? He’s so infuriating – it’s no wonder everyone on this island either hates him or is wary of him, himself included – but it makes Hinata wonder if he ought to be blaming the dementia instead.
> 
> He remembers when they’d first met on the island, when Komaeda had seemed nothing more than a helpful guy he wouldn’t mind being friends with. It had all been an act, of course, but… if it hadn’t… maybe they _could_ have been friends.

**echo.**

> Nanami Chiaki was too good for the reserve program. Hinata couldn’t make sense of it – this smart, friendly girl, who could kick his ass at Mario Kart and had friends at the regular campus, was stuck here?
> 
> Still, she didn’t seem to mind. If the headmaster had offered _her_ the chance to become talented, he bets she’d have turned it down. He almost does, too – but then Nanami dies in an accident, and so too does his hope.
> 
> (When Fujisaki starts developing his female AI, he remembers that sweet reserve girl he used to know – and gives her life again.)

**push.**

> When she walks in, all Hagakure can think is this: _ka-ching!_
> 
> She starts out by offering to pay him however much he wants in return for reading her future… and, well, who is he to turn down such an offer?
> 
> She wants to know if she’ll get an offer to attend Hope’s Peak. The universe tells him no, but she’s kinda scary and is offering a lot of money, so he lies and says yes. He’s wrong 80% of the time, anyway.
> 
> He regrets the whole thing the minute the yakuza show up at his door, demanding their money back.

**new.**

> Today was the start of something new – the minute Makoto Naegi, MS3, finally got to set his first foot in the wards as a student doctor. The bottom of the totem pole, but it would finally put all his years of studying and hard work into practice.
> 
> He wondered what rotation he’d like most – he’d heard things about the current interns who chose practices, like the sweet sunshine “princess” in inpatient pediatrics versus the general surgery intern who swore like a sailor, but he didn’t know where his personality would fit.
> 
> He guessed he’d have to just wait and see.

**murmur.**

> After being rejected by Pekoyama, and subsequently giving her romantic advice, Hinata slinks off to the diner to mope in peace.
> 
> Of course, Kuzuryuu’s there, and gives him shit almost immediately when he tries to pour himself some alcohol. He’s not in the mood to fight now, so instead, he winds up unloading his complaints on his sworn brother.
> 
> “I mean, I thought she was going to ask _me_ out… but she just wanted advice for dating some childhood acquaintance…  and something about a tool? Wait, where are you—”
> 
> (Kuzuryuu will apologize for taking advantage of Hinata’s heartbreak later.)

**isolation.**

> Maybe it’s not so bad, being trapped here indefinitely. They’ve made a little life for themselves, in this school-turned-prison, and some days it’s easy to forget there’s a whole world out there beyond those doors.
> 
> It’s not all great, either – Naegi for one is dismayed that Hagakure’s prediction came true, and Fukawa’s sudden death took everyone by surprise – but it’s still something. New life has been created, and their children give them the energy to keep going.
> 
> Perhaps someday, those doors will finally open, and their strange family will have to leave. But for now, this is enough. 

**starve.**

> The pangs of hunger were growing stronger, now, and with them grew the wonderful feeling of despair.
> 
> Enoshima had been right – she had truly loved food like nothing else, and the only way to join her (to feel that sweet, sweet feeling of true despair) was to give it up entirely. To waste away, feel the muscles she’d gained from years of hard-knock living and gymnastics atrophy and die as ribs revealed themselves.
> 
> It would also help with their cover, of course – who would expect the victors to be so severely emaciated? – but she knew the true purpose of her task.

**breakable.**

> It was so, so easy to corrupt these shining symbols of hope into warriors of despair.
> 
> The murders on campus net her a bunch all at once – they either yield when she calls them murderers, or when she points out they’ll be the next to die. A good handful crack after the deaths of their mothers, and reminding the others about just how alone they are in the world is really all she had to do to recruit the rest. 
> 
> Too easy. Despairingly easy. Junko can barely stand it. How will she ever feel true despair if her plan works?

**ignore.**

> “I love you, Peko.”
> 
> She blinks, startled out of her own thoughts about potential date ideas and cute, tsundere boys. What did he mean by that? She doesn’t understand – he doesn’t love her in the sense she’s familiar with (he doesn’t even truly know her), so what is Hinata getting at?
> 
> She asks him as much, and suddenly he deflates, asking her to forget he’d even said anything. Perhaps, if she knew more about how to be a good friend, she would’ve pushed the matter further. But as it is, curious though she may be, she moves the conversation along. 

**color.**

> The downside of everyone regaining their memories after the Neo World program: dealing with some unpleasant truths.
> 
> Like now, when Kuzuryuu’s about ready to rip Hinata’s head off over his past relationship with Natsumi. Technically it was years ago, but he remembers it like it was just yesterday – and there’s something that kind of pisses him off about his friend fooling around with his little sister. 
> 
> It’s not like Hinata really betrayed their friendship, as they hadn’t even met until years later. But that doesn’t stop him from yelling until he’s red in the face anyway. 
> 
> That asshole deserves it.

**grace.**

> Gundam Tanaka stared down the demon with little fear – had his mother not trained him in the arcane arts for this very purpose? Defeating the vampires and other monsters who had plagued their world from time immemorial?
> 
> He was about to begin one of his most dangerous spells – banishing the creature to a dimesion far beyond the mortal plane – when, out of nowhere, a stake pierced the vampire’s heart, causing the creature to crumble to dust.
> 
> He turned to look at the fierce slayer who had killed the beast…and instead, saw a beautiful blonde girl, no older than himself.

**belong.**

> As Hinata steps gingerly through his son’s room – games strewn about, much like how his mother left hers – it occurs to him just how much he is the outsider in this family. Not that he doesn’t adore his wife and child, because he loves them more than anything, but they get each other on a level he just can’t.
> 
> Unlike Hiro and Chiaki, he can’t spend hours just jamming buttons while staring at the screen. He likes games, sure, but they aren’t his _life_. 
> 
> He wishes Hiro a good night, and wishes his son took after him a little more.

**difficult.**

> If Hinata thought it was bad enough to have his love confession rejected, it turns out that Pekoyama is doing him one worse: asking for help dating one of their other classmates. And not just any other classmate either – but Kuzuryuu, the foul-mouthed, short-tempered (and just plain short) yakuza heir. Even knowing their history, he still doesn’t get what she sees in him.
> 
> But he truly does care about Pekoyama, so he puts aside his frustration and gives her honest advice. To value herself as a person, to ask him out with confidence.
> 
> It’s worth it, to see her happy.

**heat.**

> The issue with being a high-ranking yakuza member is how society frowns on it. From the moment he was honored with tattoos, Hinata has kept them covered in public, in order to avoid being ostracized.
> 
> In relationships, too, he’s hesitant to roll up his sleeves and reveal the truth. It doesn’t help that his girlfriend has nothing to do with the Family, and is the youngest of three children besides. There’s no way her overprotective siblings would approve of their relationship if they knew.
> 
> And he doesn’t want to lose her. Even if it means wearing long sleeves in summer. 

**fall.**

> They couldn’t agree on how it started – he was convinced that he’d started lecturing her because she’d been acting out, and she firmly believed that she had only started misbehaving to get back at him for being unreasonable.
> 
> Either way, it had gotten so bad that father and daughter couldn’t have a conversation without fighting, and it made Peko sad to see her once-close family fall apart. 
> 
> She wondered if it would help if she told them the truth – that it had really started when Natsuhi had accidentally fallen out of a tree and Fuyuhiko had lectured her about safety.

**contagious.**

> It’s a balancing act – on one hand, she needs to take good care of their sick classmates, but on the other, she can’t have too much contact with them. They can’t let the Despair virus spread any further.
> 
> But the small hospital isn’t exactly stocked with the PPE necessary to allow her to do her job safely. No airtight masks, no gowns and gloves. And her patients – especially Komaeda – are too ill to be left unattended. It takes everything she has just to keep him alive.
> 
> If she feels feverish, she figures it’s just from exertion. Such… despairingly hard work…

**good riddance.**

> One thing Junko Enoshima hated – fakers. People who claimed to feel despair, to worship it like she did, but who weren’t as dedicated to the cause as they liked to say. People who joined the organization for reasons other than complete despondency.
> 
> People who had no thoughts in their head except to serve and obey.
> 
> Maybe the bitterness came from her sister’s abandonment (that poor, boring girl), but she couldn’t take it from her or any other pathetic girls like her. Really, she should just put them out of their misery.
> 
> And, in the end, she planned out just that.

**steady.**

> Nekomaru Nidai doesn’t need help getting up and walking across the room. Maybe when he was younger, plagued by heart problems, but he’s spent most of his life training athletes (and himself) to get past that. Such a short distance should be nothing.
> 
> But all that training has melted away, muscle wasting away while he was comatose. Now, he’s reliant on Owari’s steadying embrace to keep his legs from collapsing under him. Ill-befitting of the SHSL Team Manager.
> 
> There, too, Owari offers him support. With a smile and a slap on the back, she plans for their next sparring match.

**monster.**

> It had been a coincidence – while helping the Future Foundation with restoring the world, he’d found a project that had caught his eye: a request to fix the Pekoyama Dojo.
> 
> He’d agreed to take it on the off-chance that it was related to Peko’s origins, because he’d always wondered what kind of human being could abandon a child. 
> 
> His suspicions were confirmed when he met the Pekoyamas, whose red eyes matched their daughter’s – but he was startled when, instead of seeming guilty, they burst into tears at the reminder that they’d been parents.
> 
> Guess he hadn’t gotten the full story.

**voodoo.**

> All of his classmates are fighting back against Monobear, and Hagakure wants to help. Granted, he doesn’t understand this Alter Ego stuff, but he has his own way of contributing.
> 
> All he needs is a teddy bear and his supplies. Yes, this should be nothing for the SHSL Fortuneteller…
> 
> At the final trial, Hagakure decides to put his genius plan into action. When Monobear seems distracted, he makes the killing blow – jabbing a pin into the teddy’s eye.
> 
> On cue, the bear in front of him explodes. But before he can gloat—
> 
> “Upupupu… did you really think that would work?”

**intent.**

> A few months into their relationship, Fuyuhiko brings a sake bottle full of water to her room.
> 
> At first, she’s a little confused – she only knows of two types of sakazuki, that for marriage and that for yakuza business – but his aim is somewhere in between.
> 
> It’s a promise – that one day, he’ll rebuild the Family (their lives), and then be able to swear his life and love to her over a glass of sake (a proper wedding ceremony). An acknowledgement that, yes, he wants to marry her someday.
> 
> She smiles as they entwine arms, and sips from her future.

**camping.**

> Hinata’s not sure what he did to make Nanami so angry, but there’s no mistaking it: she’s definitely mad at him.
> 
> From what he remembers, she’d seemed fine when he’d come over, ready to play the new shooter game she’d bought with her even if he knew he’d suck at it. But then again, she’s not always the easiest to read, unless she’s particularly fired up about something.
> 
> Whatever it is, he should definitely apologize. Because she’s clearly not in the mood for playing – so far, he hasn’t managed to move from his spawn site once before being shot dead.

**machine.**

> He can’t bring himself to ask them – not just because he doesn’t want to bring up bad memories, but also (honestly) because he was a coward.
> 
> He’s sure they know, as well as he does – if he was in Super High School Level Despair, and they had crazy mechanical executions, then it was obvious who’d made them. Which was why he didn’t want to know what sorts of things he’d made for Enoshima to use to kill all their classmates.
> 
> ….He was already crying, thinking about it. Maybe if he hid in his beanie, he could just forget about it…

**destination.**

> More than anything in the world, she wants to run and hide.
> 
> Naegi Komaru is just a normal girl, after all. She wasn’t meant for fighting off monobears. Her life before was lounging around reading manga and teasing on her older brother whenever she could. Saving a city… that was beyond her capabilities.
> 
> But she can’t let Fukawa-san down. Fukawa-san, who took her under her wing and ensured her survival. Fukawa-san won’t rest until they reach Towa Hills and rescue Togami-kun, and so Komaru powers through.
> 
> Even if her traitorous heart still wishes for her brother to come save her.

**nowhere.**

> Every day, after class, Nanami meets up with Hinata at the fountain so they can play games. He’s not very good at them, but he seems to enjoy playing with her anyway.
> 
> That’s why, when he doesn’t show up one day, she’s a little confused. At first, she thinks maybe he’s running late; then, that he just forgot, and she’ll see him tomorrow. But he doesn’t come, not that day nor the next. 
> 
> She goes as far as to wait outside of his classroom, hoping to catch sight of him. But he’s… not there.
> 
> She’d always struggled with dating games.

**garden.**

> Naegi’s not entirely sure how this became his life, but there’s no point in questioning it now.
> 
> In the mornings, they work together to complete chores (and whatever crazy project Monobear’s come up with), and in the afternoons he hangs out with his classmates. As of late, mostly Kirigiri-san.
> 
> So when the morning tasks are done, he invites her up to the garden, determined to get to know her better. She’s so mysterious, but Naegi is undaunted. He has the perfect plan: making flower garlands.
> 
> When the proposal makes her look away bashfully, he figures he made the right call.

**dust.**

> Old and grey as they were, they still were not ready for the end. They’d lived lives – had a child, grandchildren, and successful careers – but now as when they were teenagers, neither wanted to lose the other. He had thought her dead once before, and that was enough for one lifetime.
> 
> In the end, he was the first to die – one night, while his wife slept next to him. Their daughter had received a panicked phone call in the morning about her father’s death, although that wasn’t the end of the bad news.
> 
> The next day, her mother followed after.

**dream.**

> It’s Peko’s first birthday since they’d ( _finally_ ) started dating – the first she’s ever actually celebrated – and Kuzuryuu’s determined to pull out all the stops. It’s the perfect opportunity to show her how much he values her – and how much he cares about her interests.
> 
> Of course, he’s nervous when he finally presents her with the gift – a deed to a bakery near the Kuzuryuu compound, fully hers to own. He knows how much she enjoys baking, and she’s no longer confined by being ‘his tool’. 
> 
> But the beatific smile on her face lets him know he made the right choice.

**spring.**

> Kyouko Kirigiri prides herself on being a very observant woman. It’s an essential skill to have as a detective, to allow for the gathering of evidence.
> 
> So when she misses her period one month, it’s immediately apparent to her what might be happening. She and her husband are sexually active, and while they use birth control, he’s always been the particularly unlucky sort.
> 
> Unlucky, because she isn’t ready to be a mother – and even if she were, this isn’t a world a child should be born into. Having a child now would be irresponsible and challenging.
> 
> She hopes he’ll understand.

**sigh.**

> Hinata Fumiko, above all else, loved her son. Even when he did silly things – whether it be undergoing brain surgery due to self-esteem issues (she’d tried to talk him out of that, to no avail) or joining a spy-like organization to fix the world, she nodded and let him do his thing.
> 
> This… this was pushing it, though.
> 
> Her son had his issues and faults, but she had never expected him to come home one day and announce that he was getting married to a laptop. Even if Nanami was a “very nice program”.
> 
> She just didn’t get that boy.

**july.**

> Every year, on July 7, Naegi goes to place flowers on Sayaka’s grave. 
> 
> He chooses to remember her as the girl he knew from middle school – the girl who noticed him, despite the fact that he was as average as a boy could be. Back then, she was his dream girl – sweet, beautiful, full of dreams herself.
> 
> The attempted murder, the frame-up… that wasn’t who she truly was. So while some might not understand how he could forgive her so easily, to him, that was never a question.
> 
> Of course he forgives her. In the end, she’d saved his life.

**free.**

> After the Mutual Killing game, Naegi had opened the doors with resolve in his heart. Even though he feared what had become of the outside world, it was his duty to find the hope that remained. 
> 
> After the Neo World program, Naegi had awoken with a sense of hope. To see the former Remnants of Despair choose to face the future… he couldn’t be more proud.
> 
> After the Final Killing game, Naegi just felt _tired_. So many had died – Kirigiri-san almost included. But after reuniting with his classmates, he finally felt like the shadow of despair was starting to lift.

**stars.**

> His goal was to ensure the future of the Future Foundation – and to eliminate anyone in his way.
> 
> That was why he’d been so harsh on Naegi Makoto. The boy had a hopeful heart, but was actively jeopardizing their entire organization. He’d rescued _the remnants of despair themselves_ , after all.
> 
> And learning that the entirety of the Future Foundation was complicit in this little killing game… he hadn’t taken it well. In hindsight he’d only cut down those who’d betrayed the organization, but he hadn’t been thinking clearly then.
> 
> Ironic – that in the end, he too would become an obstacle.

**alone.**

> The first time, it’s his fault. Spending time with Pekoyama had revealed the cute girl under her harsh exterior, and before he knew it, he went from helping her smile to professing his love for her. But she’d loved someone else – and then, killed Koizumi, making him realize how little he’d truly known her.
> 
> The second time he falls, it’s for a girl who’s sugar-sweet and hates killing, so he’s sure things will be different. And yet, here they are, with her begging him to put the final nail in her coffin.
> 
> ...Hinata’s starting to question his taste in women.

**phone call.**

> …Hinata seriously can’t believe the situation he’s in right now.
> 
> He’s just been arrested for the _stupidest_ thing – seriously, who the hell arrests someone for driving without a license? – and now he has to call someone to come bail him out.
> 
> On one hand, he really doesn’t want his parents to know. On the other, his friends aren’t great options, either. Most of them can’t drive, and while Kuzuryuu could certainly arrange for him to be picked up, he won’t be happy about it.
> 
> On second thought, he’ll just call his folks. He’ll get less of a lecture this way.

**silence.**

> As part of Junko’s plan, she would be the first to die. It made perfect sense – if the 77th class’s beloved representative were murdered by Hope’s Peak’s prize creation, it would drive them further into despair. It was a plan Izuru could get behind.
> 
> The problem was that, in spite of the surgery’s relative success, a treacherous part of his heart still cared for her. Izuru knew her to be boring, but Hajime disagreed. So he offered her the choice: join him in despair, or die for hope. 
> 
> In the end, the silence was only broken by the killing blow.  
> 

**cards.**

> Just to be sure his eyes weren’t playing tricks on him, Hinata checks the cards on the table again: queen of diamonds, jack of diamonds, ten of diamonds, ten of hearts, and four of clubs. Combined with his hand – the ten of spades and the ten of clubs – he’s sitting in a pretty good place right now. What are the odds that someone could beat four of a kind?
> 
> “Looks like I’ve gotten another royal flush… but then again, my luck _is_ the only good thing about me!”
> 
> …Well, when you’re playing with Komaeda, turns out they’re pretty darn high.

**emblem.**

> As amazing as dating Chiaki Nanami is, it constantly reminds Hajime that he’s only a reserve course student. She doesn’t, of course – she doesn’t care about that – but everyone around them does. From the looks they get when they hold hands in public to having to sneak into her dorm room whenever they want privacy, the world makes it clear that he doesn’t belong with her.
> 
> Even now, during some heavy petting on her bed, it doesn’t go away. As he moves to unbutton her shirt, the Hope’s Peak Emblem stares back at him mockingly.
> 
> If only he had talent.

**serenity.**

> As loath as he is to listen to Enoshima, what she’s saying makes sense. If their friends will be dead if they quit the program… why not stay? He could see Peko again—
> 
> “Young master. You should not think such foolish things.”
> 
> He jumps. She’s dead – he _knows_ she’s dead – and yet. Even if she’s speaking in harsher tones than he’s heard before, it’s unquestionably her.
> 
> “Remaining in the program, condemning the Future Foundation members to the same fate… is that truly who you’ve become?”
> 
> When he opens his eyes, he’s filled with a new resolve – to make her proud. 

**perfection.**

> Bright though their future may be, the Final Killing Game still leaves its scars.
> 
> Naegi considers himself lucky, all things considered – as horrifying an experience as it was, he’d been spared the worst of it. Munakata-kun had lost everything, and Kirigiri-san... 
> 
> Kirigiri-san had been left permanently disfigured from the poison, the whole left of her face scarred over and her eye rendered unusable. For a girl who’d been so intent on keeping the burns on her hands hidden, such an obvious mark of failure must smart.
> 
> To Naegi, however, it doesn’t matter. Scars or no, she’s still beautiful to him.

**drive.**

> When the invitation to the reserve course comes, it’s a slap in the face.
> 
> Her older twin brother, of course, had been offered the title of SHSL Yakuza. Hell, even his tool’s given an invite. But despite her own prominence in the Family, there’s no spot in the main course for her.
> 
> But like hell she’s going to let Fuyuhiko leave her behind. She’ll prove to everyone that she’s more than deserving of the title of SHSL Little Sister, and then they’ll have to transfer her over. 
> 
> And if a spot needs to open up… she’ll just make that happen.

**missing.**

> Most days, the Impostor wondered why he (for lack of a better pronoun) even bothered to stick around, after waking up. 
> 
> He could no longer slide by under the guise of Byakuya Togami, as the real thing made semi-regular trips here along with Agent Naegi, and he didn’t have the resources to undertake a new identity here with him. His original identity…well, it was so long forgotten that it was out of the question.
> 
> So… who was he now?
> 
> (Eventually, he winds up simply using the name Mr. Porkfeet – Saionji seems attached to it, and really, it’s a funny nickname.)

**full moon.**

> Things Hinata probably should have clarified prior to deciding to have kids with his wife: making sure said wife knew how pregnancy worked.
> 
> He’d assumed that, while she had a few misconceptions due to video games, she’d know basic biology. But he’d thought wrong.
> 
> Because when Nanami was around three months pregnant, she started saying that the baby would come soon. Upon further questioning, it turned out that she thought life was like Harvest Moon: with a baby magically appearing a few months in.
> 
> She was mildly disappointed when he said that there were still six whole months to go.

**new direction.**

> Naegi can’t believe this day has come: the day that Hope’s Peak opens its doors once again. Ever since they’d asked him to be headmaster, he’d doubted it’d ever happen.
> 
> But his Hope’s Peak will not repeat the mistakes of its predecessor. Rather than placing the study of talent above everything else, it will be a real schoo. No more optional classes, no more covering up crimes. And no more taking advantage of a reserve course to fund their education, either. 
> 
> That doesn’t mean he won’t make his own mistakes. But that said, he thinks the school’s future is bright.

**from your first cigarette (writer's choice).**

> He’d considered it, often enough – leaving the Family behind, making a name for himself. Find something he was good at (instead of a disappointment), and let the yakuza matters fall to his little sister (who, unlike him, had the talent for this sort of thing).
> 
> If he hadn’t been certain that his father’s men would find him and bring him back, somehow, he probably would have taken the first chance he’d gotten. Convinced Peko to come with him (he wouldn’t want to leave her behind) and run away.
> 
> ….It wasn’t befitting of an heir, to have such flights of fancy.

**for a minute there, i lost myself (writer's choice).**

> When the final class trial was over – too quickly, not enough time for them to intervene – the three from the Future Foundation realized they only had a few short moments to make a decision.
> 
> If they did nothing, the graduated students would wake up – and so would their classmates, whose minds had been overwritten. But there were no other feasible options in the time available – or none that wouldn’t make them just as bad as the Remnants of Despair.
> 
> And so, Saionji awoke – but her mind and spirit were not her own. Behind her eyes, Junko was the one smiling.


End file.
